Mitt Romney Takes on a Senior Citizen and Loses It

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared at the Iowa State Fair this week and ran into a buzz saw. He was heckled by a group affiliated with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, one of them an angry senior citizen who demanded to know how Mr. Romney would preserve Medicare and Medicaid without cutting benefits..

The person shouted at Mr. Romney who -- unwisely -- shouted back and wagged his finger. Exasperated, he finally said, "The way this is going to work is that you get to ask your question and I get to give my answer. If you don't like my answer, you can vote for someone else. But now I get to give my answer."

Three major problems with Mr. Romney's behavior:

Matching the anger

The threatening finger wag

Staking his ground; in effect saying, "It's all about me."

It's hot in Iowa, high temperature, high hopes, high stakes, but Mr. Romney should have stayed cool.